Big announcement from Barnicus, the Warrior of Clean ... this morning. It's GACU!
That stands for Great American Clean Up. Each Division gets a period devoted to the “cleanliness trifecta”. This includes a health check-in at the Infirmary, showering/laundry-put-away at the cabin, and a visit to The Spa.
Funny how word gets around. We once had a prospective parent on the phone who asked if it was really true that we had a spa at Skylemar. She thought maybe we were too fancy…
Our “spa” is just a way of getting it done. Gotta clip those nails and scrub those flip-flop feet. Might as well do that with a little Zen music and cucumber slices on the eye lids to make it fun. At the Infirmary, our phenomenal nurses take temps, do lice checks, and give reminders about looking out for ticks and brushing teeth.
It was also a League Day for many of the Divisions. That’s when you play competitively for a double period within your age group. Cubs and Stars had League Football; Tigers and Seniors had Hoops. The other groups have theirs tomorrow.
After a full day of exhausting outdoor activity, relaxing on the lawn for Spirit Night was welcome. Spirit Night is a time of appreciation and gratitude, that includes traditional readings, lessons to learn from, camp songs and popsicles. Our leaders were from Bunk 18.
Here’s the structure of this Skylemar tradition: First we sing “We Meet Again in Gladness”, and then there’s a poem that touches on a positive theme. We light a candle (kinda - it’s battery operated) and the responsive reading goes like this -
We light this candle in fellowship with our friends
We light this candle with love for our families
We light this candle in gratitude for all those who have helped us
We light this candle in the hope of peace, kindness and compassion
We light this candle to reach out to those in need
We light this candle for those who are not here now.
We light this candle to see within and brighten our days ahead.
Next, we recite the Prayer for Our Country and sing a patriotic song. Shep reads aloud on a topic that resonates with all. For example, he taught us about Hank Aaron, and shared an impactful quote. Aaron said, “The best will always hit their pitch.”
Counselor Ryan gave the sermonette. He explained that sports do not define us. They can drive us to be better but should never drive us apart. He spoke about the difference between “kindness” and “nice”. Kindness goes deeper. It’s when you’re nice all the time, even when nobody’s looking. Ryan challenged us to be who we want to be. That’s not just in sports, but as an all-around Skylemar family.
Two of our kindest received the Cool2Care Chain this evening. Congratulations to Andrew B (Bunk 30) and Max Baum (Bunk 10) for being shining examples of the type of people we should all hope to be.
